Magnetic gameboard having an integral,roughly granulated upper surface



March 18, 1969 s. SPAN ET AL 3,433,478

MAGNETIC GAME BOARD HAVING AN INTEGRAL, ROUGHSY' GRANULATED UPPERSURFACE Filed Feb. 10. 1967 7' I0 F|G.|

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United States Patent 3,433,478 MAGNETIC GAMEBOARD HAVING AN INTE- GRAL,ROUGHLY GRANULATED UPPER SURFACE Samuel Span, Teaneck, and Walter Thum,Fairlawn, NJ. (both of 93 Belmont Ave., Paterson, NJ. 07509) Filed Feb.10, 1967, Ser. No. 619,505 US. Cl. 273-1 12 Claims Int. Cl. A63f 9/14,9/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A game of skill, rather than of chance,substantially consisting of a game board having a roughly granulatedsurface provided with an obstacle, small magnetic pieces movable aroundor through the obstacle, the pieces being moved by a larger manuallyoperated magnet held underneath the board.

Background of the invention The present invention relates to games whichrequire a certain skill and dexterity and which do not rely upon luck orchance. The present invention further relates to games which are playedon game boards and which use the property of relatively small magneticpieces to be either attracted or repelled by a somewhat larger magnet,which is manipulated manually, causing movements of the small pieces onthese boards. The larger magnet is operated underneath the game board.

There are many games which employ the use of magnets, mostly simulatingfishing or moving little models of vehicles of all kinds across an evenplane, simulating the surface of a field or sea. However, none of thesegames use magnetic pieces moved by magnets, thus subjecting the piecesto both magnetic attraction and repulsion. Likewise, none of these gamesemploy a roughly granulated board surface which increases the activityof the pieces.

Summary The present invention consists in such novel features,construction arrangements, combinations of parts and improvements as maybe shown and described in connection with the apparatus herein disclosedby way of example only and as illustrative of a preferred embodiment.Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in parthereafter and in part will be obvious herefrom or may be learned bypracticing the invention, the same being realized and attained by meansof the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appendedclaims.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an obstacle on aroughly granular game board and to provide a plurality of substantiallysmall magnetic pieces which can be moved across the board and through oraround the obstacle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide manuallyoperable magnets, which are substantially larger than the small magneticpieces and which can be moved freely underneath the board, to move thesmall pieces.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sturdy andattractive game which can bemanufactured easily and economically.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel game,which can be played by several people, which is highly amusing andentertaining.

Various further and more specific purposes, features and advantages willclearly appear from the attached description given below taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing which forms part of thisspecification and illustrates merely by way of example one embodiment ofthe device of the invention.

3,433,478 Patented Mar. 18, 1969 Brief description of the drawing In thefollowing description and in the claims, parts will be identified byspecific names for convenience, but such names are intended to be asgeneric in their application to similar parts as the art will permit.Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures ofthe drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view of the game board with amaze thereon;

FIG. 2 is a cross section of the game board shown in FIG. 1, taken alongthe line 22 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the manually operable magnet;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the magnet shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of one of the smaller magnetic pieces;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the pieces shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross section of the board, partly broken away,along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now in more detail tothe drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment by which the inventionmay be realized, there is in FIG. 1 a game board designated by thegeneral numeral 10, which may be flat but which preferably consistssubstantially of a relatively shallow, dished tray 11. Tray 11 may bemade of light-weight nonmagnetic material, preferably of a stiffplastic. In tray 11 is a maze 12, the walls 13 of which have gates 14leading from one compartment of maze 12 to another. The surface 15 ofboard 10 has a substantially uneven or roughly granulated surface. Itmay consist of a thin layer 16 of plastic with such a surface.

A plurality of small, thin pieces 17 may freely move over the granulatedsurface. Pieces 17 are preferably thin disks and preferably consist of amaterial having a permanent magnetism on the outside cylindricalsurface, thus having distinct North and South poles. They may be made ofany conventional magnetic material, or of a magnetic plastic orrubberlike material, for example of Koroseal. A substantially largermagnet 18 is provided which move pieces 17. Magnet 18 preferablyconsists of a fiat strip 19 having an upright center handle 20 to beheld between thumb and forefinger of the hand of the player (FIGS. 3 and4). Two bar magnets 21, 22 are affixed to the surface of strip 19opposite handle 20. Magnets 21, 22 may be made of any conventionalpermanent magnetic material, but are preferably made of the samematerial as pieces 17, such as Koroseal.

The operation The game may be played by two or more persons where eachplayer is given a game board 10, a plurality of small pieces 17 and onemagnet 18. Pieces 17 are placed on surface 15 outside walls 13 wherethey will adhere to one another at random in the form of little chainsor clusters. The players will start at the same instant to set pieces 17in motion by moving magnet 18 below board 10, attempting to guide themsuccessively through gates 14 through all compartments of maze 12. Thefirst player to get all his pieces through to the end of the maze winsthe game. Obviously any other system or rules may be established, forexample by using one board and timing the player from start to finish orby setting up a scoring system whereby one player may be through themaze before the next other one reaches a certain point of the maze, orsimilar rules. Another version may consist of a race game in which theplayers must separate the pieces and re-assemble them in new groups ofthe same color. Obviously pieces 17 would have to be made in severaldifferent colors in this case. It is apparent that this game isadaptable to any game in which magnetic pieces are moved over a roughlygranulated surface, by manual operation of a larger magnet, through anysort of obstacles to a destination. The maze version shown is oneexample of such an obstacle.

A vivid animation of pieces 17 is attained by rapid movements of magnet18 below *board since the magnetic pieces are passed through a field ofthe larger magnet. This animation is further increased by floor having agranulated, random multiplaned, uneven surface. As pieces 17 are drawnover the irregular surface, their poles attract and repel each othermore than they would do on a smooth, planed surface, thus causing a muchmore rapid variation in the polar attraction and repelling resulting inan excited animation. It is this uniqueness of these features thatdistinguishes this highly amusing and entertaining novel game from allhiterto known magnetically propelled games.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to acertain preferred example which gives satisfactory results, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art after understanding the principleof the invention, that various other changes and modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and itis intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changesand modifications.

.We claim:

1. A- game comprising a board having an integral roughly granulatedupper surface, an obstacle on said surface, a plurality of magneticpieces freely movable on said surface and around said obstacle, and amanually operated magnet larger than said pieces, whereby said magnetmay be operated to move said pieces around said obstacle.

2. A game according to claim 1, wherein said pieces consist ofsubstantially cylindrical disks.

3. A game according to claim 2, wherein said disks have magnetizedperipheries.

4. A game according to claim 1, wherein said board is a substantiallyshallow tray.

5. A game according to claim 1, wherein said pieces and said magnetconsists of a resilient magnet material.

6. A game according to claim 1, wherein some of said pieces have a colordifferent from that of the other said pieces.

7. A game according to claim 1, wherein said obstacle is a maze, saidmaze consisting of compartments, walls separating said compartments fromone another, and gates in said walls, said pieces being freely movablethrough said gates.

8. A game according to claim 7, wherein said pieces consist ofsubstantially cylindrical disks.

9. A game according to claim 8, wherein said disks have magnetizedperipheries.

10. A game according to claim 7, wherein said board is a substantiallyshallow tray.

11. A- game according to claim 7, wherein said pieces and said magnetconsist of a resilient magnetic materail.

12. A claim according to claim 7, wherein some of said pieces have acolor different from that of the other of said pieces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,749,127 6/1956 Kittel 46-240 XR3,045,393 7/1962 Knott 273l XR 3,106,042 10/1963 Roethler 46240 RICHARDC. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

PAUL E. SHAPIRO, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

